2009 - Telegraph.com [English]

Download: Audio of interview

Tarja: Hello?

Vlad: Hello, may I speak with Marcelo Cabuli?
Tarja: Uh, or Tarja Turunen, this is Tarja.

Vlad: Ok, hello.
Tarja: Hello, how are you?

Vlad: It's a pleasure to talk to you.
Tarja: Thank you.

Vlad: My name is Vladimir Iontchev. I'm calling from Bulgaria.
Tarja: Yes.

Vlad: Ok, may I begin?
Tarja: Yes! Of course!

Vlad: Ok, my first question is, Tarja, in the recent years a lot of good music has come from Finland. I wonder is there a special magic in this country that makes music so beautiful and majestic?
Tarja: -laughs- Oh thank you -laughs- well, that's true, yes, absolutely we have been very lucky to have very known bands rising up from my home country, Finland, in the last years and you know magic or not, music is the magic ya know and people making music, it's wonderful to see there are people loving and making music seriously and from their hearts and that is what really reaches people when the emotion is there than it is correct. It reaches people so I don't know, in Finland it's one of those countries where long winters and the coldness and all that makes us quiet people write great, beautiful music so maybe it is one of those reasons ya know that culture is not that open and so we concentrate in writing dark, beautiful music. -laughs-

Vlad: Yeah, ok, you are a really beautiful woman, but why are you always wearing so much make up?
Tarja: Well not always, if you would see me now, I'm not wearing any. -laughs-

Vlad: Yeah.
Tarja: No, of course, when I'm performing I am wearing a lot of make up, but when my fans have been reaching me after the shows, I'm coming to see them after the shows, I'm hardly ever using any make up so they have internet full of photos without any make up of me. -laughs-
Vlad: Yeah.

Tarja: It is a part of show business as well and ya know my costumes, tailor made dresses for me. I love to be dramatic because music is dramatic.

Vlad: mmmhmmm, it's part of a business.
Tarja: Yeah, part of a business. -laughs-

Vlad: CAN NOT UNDERSTAND ALL OF WHAT HE SAYS
Tarja: Well, um, in a way, people sometimes when they have met me for the first time they have told me oh you are so much nicer than I thought, oh you are so kind and lovely and so happy and positive and the picture that of course people have from me from Nightwish years and so it was a band with a certain image and I was part of the image and I was always very dramatic and dark and now in my solo career I have really come down more  in a way reachable for people to see me because they really see me very happy and it's a drastic change in a way of my feelings or so I am such a happy person today to be able to make music on my own so people can see that. That is the different Tarja. I mean, that is the different me today in a way.

Vlad: I have always wondered if Tuomas is in love with you.
Tarja: -laughs- You have to ask that from him...come on.  -laughs-

Vlad: Nightwish break up was very much like a break up from a relationship.
Tarja: Well, of course, every long relationship, whether it is about a music band or relationship, of course it is comparable.

Vlad: Could you tell us more about Marcelo? You look mystic and (something) nevertheless fans know you, know alot about you but Marcelo, however, is almost unknown.
Tarja: Yes, he's my husband from Argentina. We live in Argentina, basically, both of us at the moment. We still have a place in Finland but we're travelling all the time together and I'm a very very lucky girl to have a man that is supporting me in my career all the time. He has worked very hard, he's working everyday very very hard to get my dreams come true but as well one way or another his dream is coming true as well. He's enjoining his work of being my manager, being my husband and being my friend. So that is working absolutely fantastic.

Vlad: Ok, you have had a teacher from Bulgaria, tell us something about him. Do you remember his name?
Tarja: Yes (Could not understand his name)

Vlad: What was he teaching you?
Tarja: He was teaching me in a Primary school very many many years ago. Few years he was teaching music.

Vlad: Music?
Tarja: Yes.

Vlad: Yeah. During your last concert in Sofia last year the audience loved you, but (could not understand few words here) Nightwish accused you of being cold with the fans and that's why the band seperated where is the truth I wonder?
Tarja: Well, you want..you...you know I'm not the person to tell you the truth -laughs- you know. The truth will be revealed for everybody can see, what's real today and it's a wonderful fact I have a career on my own today and the band has a career on their own today and I wouldn't like to ya know go into that to explain to you about things or anything. What has happened has happened, unfortunately not the best way how the things happened but life continues and I'm happy on my own today and I just wish all the best for the band as well but you know this is not such a declaration coming from me ever in this world or in any interview I will tell you what the truth behind all this because I think what I always believed is the matter of the band business and should be kept inside of the band members.

Vlad: Yeah, ok, your new songs are wonderful but there is more opera than metal. Do you purposely avoid the Nightwish style?
Tarja: Well, Nightwish has their own composer and Nightwish is a band with a famous name and I was never writing music in Nightwish. I am writing music on my own today and my music is different than Nightwish. There is no other way of saying of course people will always remember me as the ex singer of Nightwish because I did a long career in the band, but the music I'm doing today is my music and music that I love and present.

Vlad: When I listen to I Walk Alone, I wonder what your favorite fairytale was. Who was reading fairytales to you as a kid?
Tarja: Oh, my mother, of course, she did and I was reading lots of books on my own as well since I started reading at a very early age. Reading was one of my passions when I was a kid and of course fairytales, well, I don't know, actually these English names for fairytales are very uncommon for me, but maybe The Rose and the Willow and Winnie the Pooh, English names are very hard for me. I was reading (something) and fantasy tales a lot.

Vlad: I know that Brahms is your favorite composer.
Tarja: One of them. One of them.

Vlad: One of them and the Lord of the Rings is your favorite movie.
Tarja: Yes.

Vlad: Which  of your songs is your favorite?
Tarja: My own songs, wow, it is a very difficult questions. Actually, now when I have been writing new songs for the new album, many new songs, they can be that they are all one of my favorite from the forthcoming album. Maybe, also, I love today very much a song also in my present concerts, Montanas de Silencio, it's a Spanish text that I wrote for a song, I wrote together with the cellist, Martin Tillman like one year ago or something like that, and now I'm presenting that to the people at my concerts. It's a beautiful, beautiful song and has a lot of passion and lots of great, great feeling in it. Montanas de Silencio, so maybe that is one of my favorite at this moment.

Vlad: Ok, do we get (something) when writing music?
Tarja: Well, I do write on my own or than I write with other song writers that I already knew before so it is easy to work with people that you've already been working with but I'm not afraid to work with new people either, but it's kind of like these people that have been there for me already they know how I work, they know my music, they know what I want. It's easier. It's a lot easier to process but it has been really really nice experiance to be able to write songs. -chuckles-

Vlad: Yeah, I like to take you back nine years from now at the beginning of your career around 1996, back then did you want to copy and act as someone else or did you prefer to create something unique and one of a kind?
Tarja: Well, '96 was so many many years ago -laughs- and when I been at that time studying in an Academy of music in Finland and also studying recordings for the first time ever for a heavy metal band it was such a drastic change between those two worlds of classical music and heavy metal and I was brave enough to do those things seriously both of them and not leaving why one of them aside you know that of course it was very hard for me to continue studying and so when Nightwish grew very fast to a level of a big band, a successful band, but it was great for me to be able to show people that I am open minded and I want to continue making music in my own way because there was nobody really that I could look for and that could have done the thing before like I am doing so in a way it was a lonely work for me. It was a struggle as well for the voice because it took me many many years to learn how to put my voice fitting to the music of Nightwish. It's very hard struggle so that revelation that I kind of learned one day, I think was 2003 only, something like that around that time, that I realized that, wow, now my voice works that I don't need to fight and struggle and I can feel and love the music so that was fantastic.

Vlad: Does it hurt listening to Anette performing your songs?
Tarja: No, of course not and I really wish her very very best of luck and everything good and I'm very very happy that the band is having such a successful career today and with their new singer so I truly, truly hope her all the best.

Vlad: Ok, your song with Martin Kesici, he has become quite successful. Do we consider any other projects with him?
Tarja: Well, we haven't been considering, we haven't been talking about him lately. I would like to know what he is doing now today because I have't heard too much of him lately, but he's a very nice guy. I really enjoyed the project with him and collabortation, all the videos and everything with it together. It was very  very nice and he has a lovely voice as well, uh, not that I know there is plans. I don't know any plans of working with him, but I am really open for collaborations in general.

Vlad: Ok, we are looking forward to your concert in Sofia.
Tarja: Yeah, me too.

Vlad: Any surprises on the set list?
Tarja: Yes, of course I'm still presenting My Winter Storm as you know my new album is not out yet so of course the set list will be based on My Winter Storm but I will be presenting very many new songs for you. Different than the last concert in Sofia and I am truly so lucky girl because I believe it was the biggest concert ever on my solo career so far was in Sofia the last time and I am so, so happy to return to your country, to your great, great city and to see what's happening this time because I'm really exicted. All the band is excited to return.

Vlad: Ok, I've just want to tell you that my Chief is your biggest fan.
Tarja: Oh really? -laughs- That's nice, you need to say hello for me.

Vlad: He's here with me. He says hello.
Tarja: Thank you.

Vlad: It has been an honor to talk to you.
Tarja: Thank you very much.

Vlad: I wish you the best.
Tarja: Thank you.

Vlad: Bye.
Tarja: Bye bye. See you very soon.

Vlad: See you.
Tarja: Bye.

Source: Telegraph